Resolving To Be Resolute
January 01, 2012
Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess
Every year I ponder whether I should put together my New Year's Resolutions. I sit down with pen and paper and come up with the usual, "Lose weight," "write every day," "exercise more," etc. You know the drill. Those vague resolutions that eventually fail and then make you feel bad about yourself? We've all been there, right?
One thing I found extremely difficult to keep up with was the "exercise more" especially when I lived in New York. It's hard to get out and exercise when it's snowing and blowing and I was never much on team sports -- which I consider a gym to be.
As for the "write every day" I do that because I write for a living; what I need to do is be more specific in my "writing" resolution. How about something like, "take at least 30 minutes a day to write something for my own edification or for publication, etc." This goal is more concrete.
Still, in order to make many resolutions that I come up with, I need to first incorporate better time management skills into my life. Set a more firm office (even though I work from home) schedule. Stop being tempted to check email from the iPad or Smartphone when I'm lying in bed. Live in the moment -- again, that could mean stop checking email when I am with friends and family.
I truly believe the pressure of making huge changes in your life simply because it's January 1 is daunting. Why not pick a time during the year that truly motivates you -- rather than the time of year when everyone is resolving to do XYZ?
I do want to exercise more (what does that mean? I have to be more concrete with that detail); I will write at least 30 minutes a day purely for myself.
There is a new site I discovered called Schemer and I do have a few schemes in there that I hope to accomplish this year. Is a scheme any different from a resolution? Probably not. Will I be held accountable by anyone other than myself? Not likely.
Are you a resolution setter?
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I love your perspective on resolutions. I welcome the new year as an opportunity to re-evaluate some of my habits/goals/desires, and I completely agree with you that I usually need more focused resolutions rather than broad ideas. The past few years I've lacked motivation to follow-up. Maybe we should all pick a few mid-year check-in points to determine whether or not our resolutions are being carried out.
Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Ruth H. | April 12, 2012 at 02:47 AM
I find that specific resolutions are more realistic and practical. "Exercise more" is vague compared to "do at least 20 mins of yoga daily." The more specific the resolution, the higher the chance of it actually being successfully done!
Posted by: Zsa Zsa | January 02, 2012 at 08:54 AM
Super outlook and I am with you, Robbi. Bite-sized goals and not "must do resolutions or else" resonate longer and tend to get done. ;) Happy New Year
Posted by: Carol Bryant | January 01, 2012 at 01:51 PM